Seizures and Epilepsy in children and adolescents

How are Seizures triggered?

Seizures can be triggered by various factors, including fever
(resulting in ‘febrile seizures’), missed medication, lights, stress and not
sleeping well. Seizures are classified as prolonged if there is continuous
seizure activity for 5 or more minutes, or if there are 3 or more seizures in an
hour. During this time, patients may require ‘rescue’ medication to bring the
seizure under control. Seizures can be triggered by various factors, including
fever (resulting in ‘febrile seizures’), missed medication, lights, stress and
not sleeping well.

How Common are they?

Febrile seizures are the most common type of seizure in
children; approximately 1 child in 25 will have at least one febrile seizure,
and more than one-third of these children will have a recurrence before they
outgrow the tendency to have febrile seizures. Epileptic seizures, which rank
among the most common childhood neurological emergencies in developed countries
and affect nearly 1% of the population, have a significant impact on sufferers,
with 15% experiencing a seizure or a series of seizures lasting for 30 minutes
or longer in their lifetime.

Prolonged, acute, convulsive seizures are considered a medical
emergency and, if untreated, in rare cases can result in death.